Incorporation and Mechanical Solidarity in an Underground Coal Mine

Bibliographic Data

ID7105490
AuthorsCharles Vaught (Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University), David L Smith (0000-0002-6456-5444, Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University)
Year1980
Volume7
Issue2
Pages159-187
Publication date1980-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology of Work and Occupations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-9285
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/073088848000700202
OpenAlexW1982519754
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited42

In this article we illustrate the concern with mechanical solidarity exhibited by work groups within a dangerous work setting. Building upon the notions of Ralph Turner and Louis Zurcher, the argument is made that groups which must continually deal with potential disaster will manifest mechanical solidarity as the dominant form of social integration. In the underground coal mine, games and dramatic performances which subvert outside behavioral expectations are utilized to emphasize the "different world" context of the work setting. Deviant from dominant cultural norms, these games serve as powerful mechanisms for the direct bonding of individual and group

Argument (complex analysis · Coal · Coal mining · Context (archaeology · Political science · Sociology · Solidarity · Work (physics · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Engineering · History · Law · Mechanical Engineering · Medicine · Social and Intergroup Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub